Fifa: The Controversies And Scandals

Fifa has been mired in controversy and scandals of late - here is a timeline of how events have unfolded for the governing body of world football since last October.

:: October 2010

The Sunday Times claims two members of the executive committee, Reynald Temarii of Tahiti and Amos Adamu of Nigeria, offered to sell their votes in the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosting contest to undercover newspaper reporters.

The pair are later suspended by Fifa's ethics committee, pending further investigations. Four other officials, all former executive committee members, are also provisionally suspended.

:: November 2010

Temarii is banned for one year and fined 5,000 Swiss Francs (£3,569) for breaching the ethics code.

Adamu is banned for three years and fined 10,000 Swiss Francs (£7,100) for breaching five articles of the ethics code, including one on bribery. The four others are banned and fined.

The ethics committee decides allegations of vote trading between Spain and Portugal - 2018 bidders - and Qatar, who are bidding for 2022, are unfounded.

Further allegations made on a BBC programme against three more executive committee members are dismissed by Fifa, which claims the matters had already been investigated.

:: December 2010

The 2018 and 2022 World Cups are handed to Russia and Qatar respectively. Fifa's own technical report states that the high temperatures in Qatar could pose a health risk to players, officials and spectators.

:: May 2011

A Parliamentary investigation into why England failed to secure the 2018 finals hears there was evidence from the Sunday Times newspaper that two further members - Issa Hayatou of Cameroon and Jacques Anouma of the Ivory Coast - were paid by Qatar.

At the same hearing, former English Football Association chairman David Triesman accuses Fifa executive committee members Jack Warner, Ricardo Teixeira, Nicolas Leoz and Worawi Makudi of asking for favours in return for their votes.

Fifa later says all four men have been cleared of the allegations in an independent report commissioned by the FA.

An ethics investigation is opened into Mohamed bin Hammam, Blatter's only challenger in the Fifa presidential election on June 1, and Jack Warner.

Blatter is also summoned to appear before the ethics committee hearing following a claim by bin Hammam he was aware of the cash payments but failed to take action.

The ethics committee clears Blatter but provisionally suspends bin Hammam and Warner pending a further inquiry into allegations they paid Caribbean delegates $40,000 each to vote for bin Hammam in the election for the top job.